I was very fortunate and when I finished school my father bought all the products I needed to get started. so I worked on 70% commission. I wasn't fully comfortable when I first got out of school so a found and little whole in the wall salon to work at. all the training I got after school I did on my own.

wow Getnailed....that sounds like an awesome deal indeed ! I am just wondering how to go about it ......we will return to the US this summer and i want to start working asap. The freedom of coming and going whenever it is suitable sounds wonderful but i worry about if i will actually be able to make any money considering i will be totally new to the town .......plus i figured if i start as an employee first next to other nail techs, i can learn a lot ,just watching them or listening to their experiences.....i don't know if that is possible as a booth renter ????

I'm going to say it's pretty tough making it doing booth rent to start off with. If you're an unknown, you've got to get 'known', and if your workmanship is a bit slow or not up to what it should be, it'll be even tougher. It would be best, imo, to start where you're paid comm. and have an agreement with the owner that you can go to rental after 6 months or so. By then, hopefully you'll be up to speed. Meanwhile as comm., you're considered an employee and the owner pays for the supplies you use, generally. If she doesn't want to pay for the supplies, your comm. should be higher, since you need to pay for them.
If you can find a really cheap place with a great walk in clientel, you could make it with booth rent to start off with........just saying. Most places are aware of the money to be made in a situation like that, tho, and will charge b.r. accordingly.

as I Supplied all my own products and tools ect. I made an arrangement with the salon owner that I would give 30% of my service total. this gave me the best of both worlds. I had all the freedoms (and responsibilities) of a booth renter and the safety net of a commission employee. this works out for the salon owner as well. she didn't have to put out any money for me to work there and she still got paid. when I left my first salon for the salon I'm at now I made the same arrangement.

Thank you Donna, that s exactly what i needed to hear to make my decision. I have no idea how the job market is where we are going. While i was in cosmetology-school i always thought it must be hard to find a job considering the number of girls attending school....if all of them try to find jobs, there can not be enough salons for all the graduates.....i didn't realize that not everybody who starts school makes it til the end and that only a few of the ones who made it actually stick with the profession !In the back of my head i still feel like there are too many nail techs/hairstylists and not enough open spots even though i recently read in a YN article that nail techs are actually in demand. I can only hope that that is true and that somebody will give me a chance ! thanks everybody for the replies ! Nevalein !

Around here it's impossible to find a fair agreement, it seems. Everything is booth rental at $400 plus a month plus your own supplies. Then commission is 60/40 with your own supplies. =/ Hoping I can talk someone in to a better deal.

The best thing you could do is find a salon where they will pay for your education. You will have to talk to owners to see what they are willing to pay you. I wouldn't work for less than 50%. Owner pays for products. What happens to so many nail techs,is that they go to work for a stylist that owns a salon. Since the owner has a cosmo license she thinks all she has to do is provide a product, set it in fron of you,and say- Use this one! They,just like clients,think that we all do nails the same! They know nothing about nails. And a lot of them think Nails is a bad investment. So they don't like to put a lot of money into it.
If they new to invest in there nail techs education,instead of treating them like red headed step children, they would reap great rewards!
If you do find a Salon willing to help make you a professional nail tech that prospers through both of your efforts, you should show gratitude by being frugle with the products provided. One of the things that irritates an owner is waste! It's money down the drain. Respect what they are doing to promote you. The best way I know how to build is by asking a customer to send you a client. Then give her 5.00 off on her next service!
Good luck! I hope you have as much fun in your career as I have had. Pay it forward!
I want to invite you to read my blog-www.puttinonthenails.com

I started out in my own studio right out of school, but I had quite a bit of one on one outside training from a Young Nails educator while I was still in school and also attended several classes before I started. Even though I was new, I started right off the bat with prices in the upper end of the market because I was offering services that were otherwise not readily available in our area, and I offered $10 off for first time clients for about the first year or so while I got started. I did explain to people that I was new, and so acrylic/gel services would take longer than normal because I was working on learning to do things the right way, and assured them that the nails would look great when we were done. I had a book of my work printed fairly early on, so people could see what I was capable of and that seemed to do the trick in inspiring confidence.

That said, I'm not sure I would recommend to someone to do it the way I did - we don't rely on my income even now, so I could afford to not bring home money from the business. I was very fortunate and was able to bring in enough income from my very first month to cover my overhead even though we were new to the area and I didn't know many people, but I don't think that's the norm for a solo operator just starting [email protected]

I know from a techs point of view, it seems only fair to demand 50% and the salon pays your taxes, product & equipment, and training when you are starting with no clients at all, but the reality is a salon owner would only pay that from the get go if they know they can fill your books with existing demand OR they have no idea whatsoever about business costs and profit margins. Ideally you would be able to find someone willing to provide education and training, pay an hourly wage plus commission on a graduated scale and is willing to pay for advertising if need be to help get people in your chair.

I agree with Candice on the commission split. I am opening a nails-only salon, and if I paid 60 or even 50% commission, I would not make any money. With the numbers I am projecting, I will have a low profit-margin at 40%, even when I remove the cost of products from the commissionable amount. That said - we are a high-end salon with services going up to $70 in a very affluent neighborhood, so even at 40%, it is still a great rate.

Don't just set yourself up with a hard-and-fast rule on pay; you need to think about the other factors with regards to the specific salon. Would you rather make 50% on $35, or 40% on $60, plus, my techs will likely make a lot more in tips than in cheaper salons.

I'm desperate to take anything at this point. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to booth rent or provide my own supplies right now. I found a place that would hire me as an employee at $10 an hour plus tips and they provided product and training. After I had clientele, it would switch to commission. 2 weeks later they decided they were going to hold off on hiring someone because the hair end of the business was busy and they wanted to hire more stylists. Around here it's all natural nails, I'm not finding any enhancement service places hiring. I'm at my wits end, I've been looking for something since January. I have one more salon I'm waiting on that is natural nails only and I'm crossing my fingers.

(03-09-2013, 04:14 AM)crweixelman Wrote: I got a job at the JC Penney salon right away. I am nine years in and have never done booth rent. Melissa, where do you live again? Are you in WA state?

Yes, I'm in Olympia but looking for something anywhere between here and Renton. I mean, if it's a super fantastic opportunity I'm willing to travel further but something like Seattle is too far for a daily commute.

I don't know if Southcenter would be too far for you, but I am pretty sure the Inspa there is looking for nail techs. They don't do acrylics, but the pay is pretty good and they stay very busy. It's a nice facility. All you provide is three sets of implements, last I heard. Also, there is Butter London at Sea-Tac airport, but I'm not sure how far that would be for you either. I have a friend who works there and loves it.

(03-09-2013, 11:52 AM)crweixelman Wrote: I don't know if Southcenter would be too far for you, but I am pretty sure the Inspa there is looking for nail techs. They don't do acrylics, but the pay is pretty good and they stay very busy. It's a nice facility. All you provide is three sets of implements, last I heard. Also, there is Butter London at Sea-Tac airport, but I'm not sure how far that would be for you either. I have a friend who works there and loves it.

I was looking at the InSpa ad on craigslist and I emailed my resume to Butter London the other day. I think I will call them on Monday? Does your friend know a better way to follow up with them? Thanks for the info!